playacting
Theatrical insincere performance
Playacting is performing dramatically, especially in an exaggerated or insincere way.
Children engage in playacting when they pretend to be pirates or princesses.
When applied to adults, the word usually implies fakery—putting on emotions or behaviors for effect rather than expressing genuine feeling: His outrage was pure playacting.
Deceptive outward show
- feigningPretending to feel something
- fakeryDeliberate deception or pretense
- shamFraudulent imitation
- charadeAbsurd or obvious pretense
dissembling · insincerity · affectation · posturing · guise · simulation · impersonation · disguise
Theatrical art or turmoil
- performanceCarrying out a task
- rolePosition or part
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
emoting · hamming · overacting · mugging · melodrama · thespian · stage · histrionics
Nature, symbol, or role
- personaAssumed public identity
- cosplayDressing as media characters
- LARPIn-person character embodiment game
- reenactmentStaged reproduction of events
simulation · scenario · fantasy · gamemaster · storytelling · immersion · avatar · RPG
Imaginative play or fantasy
- pretendAct as though
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- dress-upPlay involving costumes
- gamesOrganized competitive activities
house · dolls · superheroes · pirates · princesses · fantasy · stuffed-animals · costumes
Unscripted speech or remark
- spontaneityActing without forethought
- unscriptedNot pre-written
- extemporaneousDone without advance preparation
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
on-the-spot · off-the-cuff · winging-it · freeform · sketch · banter · repartee · quick-thinking
pretense
Deceptive outward show
charade · dissembling · insincerity · affectation · posturing · guise · simulation · impersonation · disguise · make-believe
drama
Theatrical art or turmoil
- performanceCarrying out a task
- rolePosition or part
- sceneDramatic unit or locale
monologue · emoting · hamming · overacting · mugging · melodrama · thespian · stage · histrionics · exaggeration
character
Nature, symbol, or role
- personaAssumed public identity
- cosplayDressing as media characters
- LARPIn-person character embodiment game
reenactment · simulation · scenario · fantasy · gamemaster · storytelling · immersion · avatar · RPG · tabletop
make-believe
Imaginative play or fantasy
- pretendAct as though
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- dress-upPlay involving costumes
games · house · dolls · superheroes · pirates · princesses · fantasy · stuffed-animals · costumes · storytelling
ad-lib
Unscripted speech or remark
- spontaneityActing without forethought
- unscriptedNot pre-written
- extemporaneousDone without advance preparation
impromptu · on-the-spot · off-the-cuff · winging-it · freeform · sketch · banter · repartee · quick-thinking · interaction
- storytellingstorytelling, story, tale, narrative, narrator
- actingact, performing, actress, auditioning, casting
- pretendingpretend, pretending, fake, feign, make-believe
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- ShakespeareRomeo, Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello